Welcome To BeFelicitas

BeFelicitas is a space where people can come for inspiration. When we are trampled by our ever hectic lives or our overly complex relationships it's a place to go to just enjoy the simple things. A place for sharing amazing homemade, natural, food and information about healthy lifestyles and choices we can all make to help the world become the kind of place we can all live in balance and coexist. I hope you enjoy this space as much as I have enjoyed its inception.

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Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Popovers are super versatile and while they can be a little tricky (my first batch were a little dense and flat) they can go so many places once you figure it out. I have used a basic recipe from David Lebovitz author of “Room for Dessert” and “The Great Book of Chocolate,” (his latest book, “The Sweet Life in Paris,” will be published in May) to make several variations including delectable savory popovers. You will definitely have the best result if you can get ahold of a popover pan (I found mine at target for $10) one pan makes 9 popovers and that was plenty for what I am doing if you plan to serve them for a larger group or a dinner party you may want two pans because they really are best fresh from the oven served quickly.

I will give you two versions of the recipe one sweet and one savory to give you an idea of how I use the popover base. Then I hope you will run amuck with this great quick bread discovery!

Directions:1. Preheat the oven to 425° and grease popover pan with cooking spray or a little butter.2. Mix milk, eggs, syrup, butter and salt until light a foamy; you can use a hand mixer or a blender.3. Add the flour a little at a time and mix until smooth and bubbly.4. Quickly pour the mix into the pan filling the cups 2/3 of the way full. They are going to bake up above the rim like puffy golden brown balloons so don't worry about how much goes in each cup.5. Bake for 15 minutes at 425°, until the puffs are well above the rim of the pan then reduce heat to 350º and continue to bake for 20-25 min. The popovers should be a dark brown, if you take them out to early the centers will not be finished and they will fall inwards. Give them the full amount of time and resist the urge to remove to soon.6. Remove from the oven, give them a quick minute to cool and remove them from the pan. Serve immediately!

Serving suggestions:Brush with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugarBrush with butter drizzle with honey and serve with fresh fruitBrush with butter and drizzle with maple syrup and sprinkle with toasted candied nutsTop with whipped cream and serve with fresh fruit or your favorite berry coulisse or syrup

Or you can serve them how I did in the pictures with a cream cheese lemon glaze and strawberries.Cream cheese lemon glaze:2/3 cup confectioner's sugar2-3 large lemons juiced4 tbl cream cheese½ tsp vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a bowl with a hand mixer until a smooth glaze forms. You can adjust the thickness to suite your preferences by slightly altering the ratio of the cheese/ juice/sugar ratio.

Savory PopoversGreat for serving alongside dinner or lunch, I suspect they can replace many starches or grain side dishes.Ingredients:1 ½ c. whole wheat pastry flour *you could use all purpose flour or half whole wheat half all purpose if you can't find the whole wheat pastry flour1 ½ c. milk4 large cloves of garlic3 large eggs, at room temperature1 small onion¼ c. finely shredded hard cheese *I used an aged parmesan with black truffles3 tbl extra virgin olive oil1 teaspoon saltFresh chopped herbs and fresh ground black pepper:I used rosemary and thyme but you could use basil and oregano or any favorite savory combo.

Directions:1. Preheat the oven to 425° and grease popover pan with cooking spray or a little olive oil.2. Smash the garlic cloves and roughly shop the onion, then gently heat them along with the olive oil in a skillet until fragrant. (Do not heat on too high of heat you just want to infuse the oil with lots of flavor.) Remove the oil from heat and let return to room temperature; remove the chucks of garlic and onion. If you are using dried herbs you might get a better result if you add them to the warm oil to help release their flavor.2. Mix milk, eggs, infused oil and salt until light a foamy; you can use a hand mixer or a blender. If you are using a blender you could even through in a clove or two of the garlic and a few chunks of the onion.3. Add the flour and cheese a little at a time and mix until smooth and bubbly.4. Quickly pour the mix into the pan filling the cups 2/3 of the way full. They are going to bake up above the rim like puffy golden brown balloons so don't worry about how much goes in each cup.5. Bake for 15 minutes at 425°, until the puffs are well above the rim of the pan then reduce heat to 350º and continue to bake for 20-25 min. The popovers should be a dark brown, if you take them out to early the centers will not be finished and they will fall inwards. Give them the full amount of time and resist the urge to remove to soon.6. Remove from the oven, give them a quick minute to cool and remove them from the pan. Serve immediately!

Notes and Serving Suggestions:You could use pan drippings from bacon instead of the oil and substitute some sharp cheddar for a breakfast version to serve alongside eggs.You could use these in place of rolls at any meal.I recently served mine under beef tips with a mushroom and red wine reduction alongside some grilled asparagus.I could also see them as an accompaniment to soup or served with a few slices of cheese along with a salad.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Vinology has committed to sourcing as much of their food locally as possible, of course this means that they are also going to be featuring Michigan wine pairings to really showcase the best of what local producers have to offer. They have two major events this month both are sure to be amazing evenings filled with fine food and wine.

Wine Tasting Wednesday April 15th 7-9 pm

A blind tasting of wines from around the world. The challenge is to pick out the local selections. A relaxed, enlightening atmosphere will be the canvas for discussion with a focus on the textures, aromas, and flavors of what you will be tasting.

Cheeses and charcuterie served along with 6-8 wines.

$35 per person (plus tax and gratuity)

Reservations requested 734-222-9841

Wine Dinner Wednesday April 29th 7 p.m.

A four course meal from Chef Brandon's Michigan inspired hyper-local cuisine will be served along side delicious award winning local sparkling varietals. If this were not enough, Larry Mawby, of Mawby Vineyards and M. Lawrence Sparkling Wines will be joining you for a seminar on local wine making.

$60 per person (plus tax and gratuity)

Reservations required 734-222-9841

I hope you will take the opportunity to enjoy all of the amazing events Vinology has to offer and if you do attend an event please tell me about it.

Those of you who have never given the pan drippings of roasted foul a second thought this post may change your universe. I for one, had never been a huge fan of gravy from chicken but I usually used the pan drippings for stock bases and other recipes. Now I am a total convert to "pan" toast. The first time I tried this method of roasting I shamelessly burnt two of the toasts and yet I ate them regardless of the blackened appearance. I couldn't help myself one piece was just not enough; I had to have more. This is coming from the girl who has here toaster permanently set to light; but there I was eating the most glorious toast burnt and all. Since then I have made a few cooking adjustments and now my "pan" toast in the perfect incarnation of savory, golden, crispy, heaven. I can not tell you in any amount of words how easy and how amazing this method is, you will just have to take my word for it and try it yourselves.

Directions:Preheat oven to 425°Pat your birds dry with a paper towelRub inside and out with olive oilPeel and smash garlic cloves (you could roughly chop them if you prefer)Slice lemon in halve and onion in quartersStuff birds with one half the lemon in each along with the garlic, onion and some bunches of fresh thyme and rosemary.Rub the outside of the birds with fresh pepper and sea salt, along with some pieces of thyme and rosemary.Place the sliced bread in a roasting pan in a single layer drizzle with a little olive oil and with as little or as much of the spice/herb mixture as you like. *I usually just go with a little salt and pepper.Place birds directly on top of the bread, you want to completely cover the bread.Place in oven uncovered for about 1 hour and 10 minutes until birds are deeply golden brown.Remove from oven and let rest for 10 min before carving.

Notes:The toast will not be soggy I promise! You will have to worry about burning them to a crisp before you worry about mushy toast. I have no idea why this works only that it does and the flavor of the toast is unbeatable. Serve these little hens with the pan toast and some fresh steamed greens and you will get people begging on their knees for your secret to the most amazing toast ever. (The secret of which is to cover the toast with the birds to avoid the burning if I haven't made that totally clear.) I also save all of the stuff from the inside of the birds for use in stock later in the week.

For the Ford workforce Ollie's is a lunchtime staple. Located on the corner of Mercury and Ford rd. it is super convenient for a huge portion of the Ford landscape including world headquarters. I usually bring my lunch and eat in my office (a hazard of always having delicious healthy leftovers). Today was one of the few days I escaped my desk for an hour to enjoy some food with friends from work. Now for those of you who don't know the desk I am always refereeing to is actually a Ford desk where I work as a financial analyst.

Ollie's is a Lebanese restaurant run by a family and it is delicious! I have spend some significant time in Middle East and the Caucuses and the food is something I miss terribly. It is funny to think some of my favorite comfort foods are chicken shawarma, humus, and donor kebab. Ollie's serves a great lunch specials that are tasty and traditional as well as affordable. I always get the same thing every time I go. I know that is just so unlike me but hey I am not going to monkey with my favorite. I always get their chicken shawarma sandwich with the crushed lentil soup.

The sandwich is roasted chicken with garlic sauce (toum) wrapped in a flat bread (similar to pita) along with onions, lettuce and tomatoes. There are a million different ways these sandwiches are served (some are made with lamb, or beef, or a combination of meats.) The salad components can vary widely as well including humus and yogurt sauce. I like the Ollie's version of the sandwich it is never to dry or sopping with sauce and the balance of spices is not overpowering. It makes a perfect light lunch and keeps me full all afternoon. The crushed lentil soup may be the real secret to Ollie's it is a buttery yellow color served with sesame bread and a lemon wedge. I like mine with a dash of black pepper and good squeeze of lemon. I dip the bread in the soup and it is instant warmth and satisfaction. It is a smooth soup though I do not think they use a cream of any kind. It is light and very balanced. A simple food at its best it showcases the lentils and the little lemon acid gives it the perfect high note.

Ollie's is a great place for people of all preferences; their menu has a lot of diversity and offers many Middle Eastern classics. The staff is friendly and attentive; you can really get that family run feel. They are also very good with special requests, if you want something spicy or mild just ask and they are always happy to supply me with extra toum! I would recommend Ollie's to anyone in the Dearborn area.

I know there may only be a few of you at this point. I am new on the blogging scene and I love you for bearing with me as I learn the ins and outs. Hopefully one day we will look back together and reminisce about the first few months. I am not thrilled with current layout of BeFelicitas and will be working in the coming weeks to edit the HTML to better suit all of our needs. The biggest issue I am facing at the moment is how to effectively incorporate the photography into the blog layout. I am deeply unsatisfied with the current options and so have only been posting a small portion of the photographs I have. Any feedback you could give me as far as functionality and what you would like to see in a new view would be really helpful. You can leave a comment under this post or shoot me an e-mail at befelicitas@gmail.com.Thanks to all of you!xoxoxBrittney

Adapted from a recipe by Heidi at 101 cookbooksI liked the idea of a healthier cookie, because I love cookies, and I am a fan of alternative bases for batter (bananas are genius). These cookies are addictive and you can make them even healthier by using your own intuition and substitutions (I couldn't help myself with the little bit of butter and sugar), but see my note about Chris's desire to use apples and apple sauce.

Ingredient Notes:Use Bananas that are a little past their prime, on the soft side and thoroughly brown on the outside. If you have bananas that fit this description but you don't have the time or patience to bake with them this very second don't hesitate to throw them in the freezer. However, when you pull them out of the freezer and they thaw be prepared; they will be super mushy, perfect for baking but a little weird and slimy in general just to give you a little heads up (Chris found the banana mush a little unappetizing at this point but happily ate the cookie dough raw and cooked by the mouthful). Because you let the bananas hit the very ripe stage they have begun to break down into a simple sugar, this gives the cookies a lot of sweet without the addition of a refined sugar source, if your bananas are less ripe they won't be as sweet. I mentioned above additional sweetener is optional. It just depends on your preference and your bananas, I wanted a little maple flavor so in went the syrup; you could even use a tiny drizzle of molasses.

Instructions:1. Process the nut mix in a food processor until finely ground. If you are using walnuts you will not get "flour" or almond meal texture because the walnuts have so much oil it is more like a soft fluffy grainy texture. I confess I love it and scoop it out by hand and eat it just plain, it is the most heavenly texture.2. Mix your dry ingredients (nuts, oats, coconut, flax, salt and baking powder) together in your favorite mixing bowl just to evenly distribute everything.3. Mix in the bananas, vanilla, butter, cinnamon, and maple syrup.4. Stir in chocolate chips.5. Taste it! The beauty of this recipe like so many of my recent posts is there are no raw eggs! This means you can taste and lick until your heart is content with no worries. Adjust the seasoning to fit your flavor craving.6. Place small spoonfuls on baking paper lined cookie sheets and bake at 350° for about 10-15 min or until golden brown and toasted.

Baking Notes:Makes about 3 dozen normal sized cookies and heaps of itsy bitsy bite sized ones.I know at the taste it stage both Chris and I were blown away but he did have a great suggestion; he wanted to try a version without the coconut and instead us some apples. *This could be easily done just substitute shredded apples for the coconut and use applesauce instead of butter (or a little butter and a little apple sauce). Like the name says they are a little bite of everything so whatever you feel like or have on had is totally encouraged. I liked these best when I made very small cookies and I smushed them a little with my hand, they turned a toasted golden brown with a little crunch (I put them on the top rack of my oven) but were still a little chewy in the center. You can also make them like little haystacks because they have very little fat and no flour they do not spread out when they cook so the haystacks will keep their puffy shape but the centers will be soft (not an issue because there are no eggs). You can also make them just like a traditional cookie just be sure to flatten them out a little so they dry out and toast a little better.

If you would like to use any of the photos or post contents please, ask first!If you are a commercial party interested in photos, please contact me at B.L.Sinq@ gmail . com to obtain pricing information and a licensing agreement.